August 17, 2015

College Volleyball Recruiting Guidelines

For NCSA Athletic Recruiting, I had produced some background information with regards to NCSA's Volleyball Recruiting Guidelines which are being updated. As a service to collegevolleyballcoach.com readers, I have provided this information below and I hope it can assist VolleyFamilies in understanding a bit more about college volleyball recruiting.

Libero/Defensive Specialist

The Libero/Defensive Specialist label is
interchangeable for recruiting. For on court
designation, the Libero plays every rotation in the back row, while the
Defensive Specialist plays 3 back row rotations for a select front row player. In general, college coaches recruit back row
players, and the best of these back row players will obtain the Libero
position. Do not limit yourself with the
label of Defensive Specialist, because this can give the impression that you
only have the ability to play 3 rotations – Better to promote yourself as a
Libero, and compete for this position in college.

The Libero position tends to be the last position recruited
by college volleyball coaches. The
rationale being that there is an abundance of talented back row players, and a
quality Libero can be obtained later in the recruiting process. College coaches focus their early recruiting
attention on the attackers.

This results in Libero families needing to be patiently
aggressive in the recruiting process – They must continually reach out to
college programs, must contact college coaches multiple times because the
recruiting landscape is always changing, must be patient with their
communication efforts, and must stay focused on the longer timetable which is
incumbent to the Libero position and recruiting.

Many programs will offer walk on positions with the promise
of a scholarship in a future year(s).
This walk on to scholarship has become an established protocol because
it allows coaches the opportunity to have many talented back row players on the
roster, who are all competing for the scholarship later in their collegiate
career.

In terms of characteristics, some collegiate programs like
taller Liberos because of the arm reach, while other collegiate programs prefer
short Liberos because of foot speed.
But, the most important characteristic of a Libero is passing
ability. Liberos must be able to pass
well to succeed; defense is a secondary concern of the college coaches because
the entire offense is dependent upon the first pass.

The elite college volleyball Liberos (NCAA Division I and
upper DII) tend to have many years of national level club volleyball, while the
lower level college volleyball Liberos (NCAA DIII and JC) can achieve a roster
position with little or no club volleyball experience.

Middle Blocker:

The Middle Blocker position may be the earliest recruited
position and this early recruiting timetable is driven by height. Tall Middle Blockers (6’3” and above) are
actively recruited beginning their freshman year of high school, and scouted
while in Junior High. Many families of
tall middle blockers, are not prepared for this early and very aggressive
recruiting effort by collegiate coaches.

As noted above, Middle Blocker recruiting is driven by
height; the taller the player, the more elite level collegiate programs will be
recruiting (and this includes the height played above the net; the better the
vertical jump the more attractive a middle blocker recruit). And because of the early recruiting trend,
understand that other players who are not at talented as you, may be getting
recruited just because they are 2 inches taller.

As you move through the recruiting process, match your
physical statue with appropriate collegiate programs. You may want to play in the Big 10, but if
you are only a 6’0” middle blocker, you are not going to play in the Big
10. Better to find non power conference
program which will value your contributions.

Many families will question whether it is better to have their
daughter switch positions, so she can be a ‘taller’ player as an Outside Hitter
or Right Side Hitter. This can be a
risky transition, because tall does not equal talent. It is better to be a talented ‘shorter’
middle blocker, than a marginal ‘average’ height right side hitter. In general, players should play the position
they enjoy the most and have the best skill sets, and then adjust their
collegiate outreach to match their stature.

Outside Hitter:

The Outside Hitter is the most important player in the
college volleyball recruiting process.
Rally score volleyball success is determined by the talents of this
position’s ability to pass and successfully attack – When you see a winning
college volleyball team, they will have two very talented outside hitters.

With the elite level programs (NCAA DI and upper DII),
height plays a large part in the recruiting process. The taller the recruit, the more elite level
opportunities will be available.

The Outside Hitter position must have the ability to be a 6
rotation player; to play all 6 rotations while passing, attacking, blocking,
defending and serving. While height is a
factor, a player’s overall ability is important when college coaches are
evaluating recruits.

The tall and talented players will get scouted in Junior
High and actively recruited immediately.
College coaches understand that an impact Outside Hitter is critical to
winning seasons. Families of these type
of players (6’2”+ with all around skills) must be prepared to manage the
recruiting process much earlier than anticipated.

A large number of outside hitter recruits will fall into the
5’9” to 6’0” height range; this is the great middle ground of OH recruiting. Some college coaches are still smitten by
height at the expense of other skills, while other collegiate programs are
focused on all around ability. This
chasm of college coach preferences can make the recruiting process a stressful
situation for families.

Because player cannot control height but can improve skills,
focus on making yourself the best possible outside hitter. Then promote and market yourself to a wide
variety of collegiate programs that fit your various preferences. Understand the more collegiate programs you
contact, and re-contact, the more choices you will have.

Right Side Hitter:

The Right Side Hitter position has grown in importance these
last few years. This is a result of many
collegiate programs using a 2 setter offense, in which the setters are replaced
by Right Side Hitters in the front row.
So, instead of one right side hitter playing, two will now enjoy court
time and this doubles the need for right side recruiting.

Like the Middle position, Right Side Hitter recruiting will
be preferenced towards the taller players – The taller the player, the more
elite the potential collegiate playing level.

The Right Side position will be focused on blocking (because
they will match up against the opponent’s outside attacker), with attacking
being important but often secondary.
Because of this focus, the right side position tends to be taller than
the outside hitters, but not have the ball control of the outsides.

In general, this position can be a catch all position –
Taller hitters who do not have the passing and ball control needed to play the
Outside Hitter Position, or Middle Blockers who were thought too small and
moved to the right.

The exception to
this statement, are the left handed outside hitters which are extremely
attractive to collegiate coaches.
Because of the geometry of volleyball, the left handed right side hitter
is the equivalent of the right handed left side attacker. A tall, rightside hitter with passing and
ball control, will be an early recruited player.

Setter:

The setting position may be the most challenging when it
comes to the collegiate recruiting process and families trying to manage this
process. Coaches will have their own
preference when it comes to this position, which is borne of the offensive
system which the collegiate program employs.
In addition, the leadership and communication skills of the setting
position are critical to team success.

With regards to elite level volleyball, the setter position
does not break down into height parameters as easily as the attacking
positions. Some coaches prefer taller setters for the blocking benefit; some
prefer shorter setters for their agility to chase down bad passes. Many schools have shifted into the 2 setter
offense, where the setters are replaced front row by Right Side attackers. Collegiate coaches can prefer the loud,
aggressive setter while others like their setters to be quietly in
control. You will see ‘shorter’ setters
with power conference programs as easily as you will see 'taller' setters with
lower level collegiate teams.

Outside of collegiate coaches’ height/system preferences,
all college coaches expect two things from their setters – 1) Deliver a
hittable set to the attackers, and 2) Set the correct attacker. As a setter, always stay focused on improving
these two areas of your ability.

Families must reach out to a wide variety of college
programs (and reach out multiple times) as they manage the recruiting process. Similar
to the Liberos, college coaches can recruit talented setters very late in the
process and they may also employ a walk on to scholarship scenario.